The Surat Basin Resource Town Housing Affordability Strategy ( 952 KB) released in July 2011, was developed to target housing affordability in the Surat Basin in response to the expansion of its energy resources. The Surat Basin is expected to grow significantly over the coming years. This growth will place pressure on housing supply and the capacity of the housing market to respond.

The effects of mining operations on the housing market in the Bowen Basin have been taken into consideration in the strategy. It sets out principles and actions under three focus areas:

• optimising timely housing supply
• responding to demand factors
• coordinated governance for effective long-term outcomes.

The strategy aims to address the needs of Surat Basin stakeholders and the community and to provide a strong roadmap for housing affordability in the region. A draft strategy was released for consultation in November 2010 and submissions were taken into account when developing the final strategy.

Sustainable growth in the Surat Basin

The draft strategy is an initiative of the Surat Basin Future Directions Statement. The statement was released by the former Queensland Government on 4 March 2010 to provide a way to focus and coordinate the efforts of government agencies and regional stakeholders, and to share information on key planning and policy initiatives.

The Surat Basin Regional Planning Framework ( 2 MB) provides the overarching planning directions upon which the Surat Basin Resource Town Housing Affordability Strategy is based. A draft of the framework was also open for public consultation in November 2010.